Plan for LA’s Central Park Showing at 7th and Fig

Last month, a group of graduate students working with city staff designed a model of what downtown Los Angeles would look like if the 101 Freeway were capped and Los Angeles undertook creating its version of Central Park. While some planners scoffed at the notion, one email I received joked that it looked like a volcano erupted in Downtown LA, overall the project was well received.

Now you can view the project for yourself. The 7th and Fig Art Center, the same gallery hosting James Rojas’ car-free downtown model, is also showing the model created by the students. The "car-free" model and the "Central Park" model are both presented about 20 yards apart creating dueling visions for a better, greener, downtown.

Both exhibits can be viewed until August 8th when the EDAW exhibit moves on. The 7th and Fig arts center is located in the second floor of the outdoor mall located at the corner of 7th and Figueroa Streets and is open between noon and 4 P.M. daily. For information on other events at the Art Gallery, visit their website.

This really is an excellent idea. Not only to bring green space where it is sorely lacking but also to connect many neighborhoods which are essentially cut off from one another with great ped/bike connections. The community/gathering space it would create would revitalize many neighborhoods. Too bad no one in power is this city cares about these things. This would go a lot further to revitalize downtown than a bunch of pricey lofts.

http://cos-mobile.blogspot.com/ Douglas A. Willinger

It is THE way to go, proving that freeways are compatible in urban environments- conditionally.

I suspect that certain entities might oppose this because it would then increase the number of people who could see it working with cancelled freeways, such as I-95 within Washington, D.C.

Word On The Street

“With 6 to 7 million cars registered in LA County, it's really laughable to hear the supposedly most progressive thinkers around on the topic go for reducing the number of autos by a mere 100,000 by 2020! Why not 3.5 million? Cut the damn things in half.”